Octuplet mother has child specialty degree

WHITTIER - The mother of the octuplets born at Kaiser Permanente's Bellflower Medical Center is a college graduate with a degree in child and adolescent development, college officials said Friday.

Nadya Suleman, believed to be a 33-year-old single mother who lives with her parents, Angela and Ed, graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 2006, according to college spokeswoman Paula Selleck. She returned as a master's of science in counseling graduate student in fall 2006 and was last enrolled in spring 2008.

On Friday, seven of eight octuplets, delivered Monday, were breathing on their own. The eighth was receiving oxygen through a nose tube. Hospital officials said Suleman is recovering well.

When the awe of Suleman's delivery lessened, some seemed to frown upon the fact that Suleman already had six children before this pregnancy.

"The sad thing is that the kids are going to pay the price for the adult's decisions," said neighbor Audrey Longstreth, 43. "I mean, I have my hands full with my kids - and I only have three."

The family's finances were also questioned.

Angela Suleman filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy March24, 2008. She listed an address in the 15900 block of El Soneto Drive in Whittier and not the 13600 block of Sunrise Drive where they now live.

According to her petition, the debts are primarily personal.

Records listed her total assets at $1.1 million and that she owes $984,426.30 to creditors. She reported amedian family income of $61,742 and listed a household size of two.

Her creditors include the Internal Revenue Service, Whittier Hospital, East Valley Emergency in Pomona, Verizon California Inc. in Columbus, Ohio, Countrywide Home Loans Inc. in Costa Mesa, the Franchise Tax Board in Sacramento, IndyMac in Phoenix, IndyMac Bank F.S.B in San Diego and Toyota Motor Credit in Thousand Oaks.

The case was dismissed May13, 2008 after Angela Suleman failed to appear at a May 5, 2008 meeting of creditors in Los Angeles and because she didn't make all the required "preconfirmation payments."

Her bankruptcy case was closed July 22, 2008.

Angela's attorney in the bankruptcy, Shakeal Masoud, couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

But Suleman's mother, Angela, told reporters Friday that her daughter was not taking fertility drugs.

"They implanted much less than eight embryos, but they multiplied," she said.

Angela Suleman also said as much to a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous: "She said there were six babies, then it turned out to be seven, and then some of them split and they didn't know there was eight until it was being taken out."

That falls in line with comments made by family acquaintance Yolanda Garcia, 49, of Whittier, who said she provided respite care twice for Suleman's autistic son three years ago.

"From what I could tell back then, she was pretty happy with herself, saying she liked having kids and she wanted 12 kids in all," Garcia said.

"Three years ago, she told me that all of her kids were through in vitro, and I said 'Gosh, how can you afford that and go to school at the same time?"' she added. "And she said it's because she got paid for it."

Garcia said she didn't ask for any more details at the time. But she now says she's appalled because, "We as taxpayers are going to pay for these children."

For the most part, the family has released few details about the octuplet birth, saying only in a prepared statement that they will "share additional details about this miraculous experience," in their own time.

About Me

I am a 54 year old, married father of 5, one in heaven, My Father and I operate a certified organic dairy farm in southern Mercer County Ohio, made my first communion in the 1st grade, at St Joseph Catholic Church,located in the community of Egypt, Ohio (smallest parish in the Cincinnati diocese) where all of my ancestors are buried, the land for the church was donated by my Family, Our parish was so small that we made our 1st communion in the first grade to increase the supply of mass servers. I have fond memories of the Latin Mass as a server, I am now just more of a semi trad Catholic voicing his complaint about happy clappy Catholicism, vapid priests and polyester nightmare nuns that are bringing down the Church. Saints in Heaven pray for us and Angels defend us.